(7) Vaca in Pompeii
by Writer25
Summary: When Anna gets a magic mentor, Joe tries to impress her by using The Book but accidentally warps all three of them to an ancient Roman village, unknowing that it's Pompeii. Takes place after That Sinking Feeling.
1. Chapter 1

Joe was seething on the walk home from school. For the first time in weeks neither Sam or Fred had to stay after school so they were able to walk home together, but right now Joe was too pissed off at Fred to enjoy the company.

"I'm telling you I didn't cheat on her." Fred said for the fifth time.

"You went on a date with another girl, Fred." Joe said through gritted teeth. "Or was Jodie just lying about that?"

"Well...no," Fred pulled his hat lower on his head. "But it wasn't a date date. I told you guys and her that I was just helping out a guy from my team. He likes this girl, but she wouldn't go out with him unless he found her a date for her cousin."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Then what about you and San-Li? You guys flirt like non-stop."

"Are you serious?" Joe turned to look at him. "Fred, she's a psychopath!"

"She's not a psychopath." Fred and Sam said at the same time.

There was an awkward pause and Joe just looked at the both of them like they were nuts. Fred was one thing, but he thought Sam was smart enough to stay away from San-Li. But then again they had that weird bond contract thing that forced Sam to assist her whenever she commanded.

"Anyways," Fred mumbled. "San-Li and I are definitely just friends. She's like a dude with boobs to me."

"Can we please get back to the fact that you're cheating on my great grand daughter?" Joe huffed unlocking his front door. "Cause I'm still pretty mad about-"

Joe stopped short when he opened the door and was greeted with beautiful and intricate piano music. A slow smile spread across his face. He knew that it couldn't be anyone else but Fina playing something so amazing. He signaled the others to be quiet and they made their way through the house and into the sitting room. The music smoothly dissolved into a more upbeat jazzy tune. When they went inside though he saw that Fina was in her cat form and was sitting on Anna's lap and they were both listening contently. It was San-Li who was playing.

Anna noticed them and went to Joe's side.

"I came home from school and she was already here." She explained in a whisper.

"Wow," Sam said breathlessly with a small smile on his face. "I didn't know she could play piano."

The music stopped suddenly as San-Li disappeared and reappeared directly behind Sam.

"There's a lot you don't know about me." She whispered seductively making him jump.

He looked away blushing and she laughed at his embarrassment.

"What I want to know," Joe said irritably. "Is how you got into my house in the first place?"

"Oh relax," San-Li said going into his kitchen. "I was waiting for Sammy to get out of school. He still won't tell me where he lives."

"For good reason." Sam mumbled still blushing. "School is the one place I can get away from you."

They followed her into the kitchen and Joe started pulling out chips and soda while Sam set up his textbooks and homework binder. San-Li sat next to him eating out of a jar of Nutella and he made a show of not looking at her. As usual Fred went straight into the fridge and pulled out a cheese stick for himself.

"Are you serious, Fred?" Joe said angrily. "You cheat on my great grand daughter and you still think you get to eat my cheese sticks?"

"San-Li," Fred groaned. "will you please tell Joe that simply sitting next to someone in a movie theaters does not mean I'm cheating on my girlfriend?"

"It was a double date." Sam mumbled to San-Li. "He claims it was to help out a friend."

"Did you ask her permission before hand?" San-Li asked with her mouth full.

Fred rolled his eyes. "Pfft, like she would have said yes."

San-Li burst out laughing. "Fred, you're an idiot! That should have been your first clue."

Fred mumbled something under his breath and took a large bite out of his cheese stick. Joe looked over and watched Fina and Anna cut the brownies into little designs. He smiled to himself. It had taken a little while to get used to but he enjoyed having this many people in his house. Heck, he was didn't even mind having San-Li around sometimes.

The doorbell rang and Joe got up to answer it. He opened the door and his heart nearly stopped. Standing on his doorstep was honestly the most beautiful girl that Joe had ever seen. She had smooth chocolate brown skin and dark brown eyes. Her long hair hung down her back in elegant waves with a section pulled back in a tight bun to keep it out of her face. Joe noticed that she was also dressed pretty formally though, with a high waisted skirt, elegant blouse and a blazer, all in different shades of pink and purple. The girl gave him a small, confused smile and his heart melted.

" 'ello?" She said in a lilting French accent. "I am looking for Anna Arthur?"

"That's me, that's me!" Anna came up behind him and pushed him out of the way excitedly. "I'm Anna Arthur."

" 'ello Anna," The girl gave a small nod and held out her hand. "My name is Joleena and I shall be your magic tutor."

Anna clasped her hand and shook it eagerly. "Oh my gosh this so awesome. Um, please come in."

She pulled Joleena inside and Joe could smell her perfume as she went by him. He opened his mouth to say something but she walked passed him without a glance. They walked into the living room together and Fina walked up to him.

"Joe?" she asked touching his arm. "Did you want any brownies before Fred eats them all?"

"Huh?" Joe blinked. "Um no, that's okay."

Fina shrugged and went back into the kitchen while he went into the living room. Anna was practically bouncing in her seat as Joleena snapped her fingers and a note book and ink pen appeared in a puff of glittery, purple smoke.

"Now Anna," Joleena said turning to a fresh page. "Before we begin may I have a glass of water please?"

"I'll get it!" Joe said eagerly before Anna could answer.

"Is that Jodie?" Fred asked nervously when he went into the kicten.

"What?" Joe had forgotten they were here. "Um, no. It's someone who says she's a magic tutor or something."

He quickly filled a glass of water, dropped a few ice cubes in it, and hurried back into the living room.

"Um, here's your water." Joe smiled.

"Merci." She said politely but barely glanced at him.

"Um, I'm Joe." He said holding his hand out a bit awkwardly. "I'm Anna's older brother."

Anna shot him a glare, but this time Joleena offered him a small smile. She touched his hand lightly and he felt a small spark go through him.

"Nice to meet you, Joseph." She nodded.

His smile grew and he gripped her hand a little more firmly. "Call me, Joe."

"Maybe we should move upstairs to my room." Anna said tightly glaring at Joe. "Maybe we'll get some privacy that way."

"I think Joleena would probably prefer to stay down here." Joe said returning her glare.

"Don't you mean _you_ would prefer it if she stayed down here?"

"I'm just trying to be polite, _Anna_."

"Actually Joesph," Joleena said taking her hand out of his. "I think it is best if we move upstairs to Anna's room. We have a lot of work to do and I would hate to keep you from your guests."

"Guests?" Joe followed her gaze and saw everyone watching them from the kitchen door way.

They gave a small snicker before ducking back inside. Joe felt his face heat up from embarrassment, but Joleena gave a small giggle. Joe turned back to her and felt his stomach flip flop.

"Come on," Anna rolled her eyes and stood up. "Let's get out of here before my brother starts drooling."

"Yes." Joleena stood up but then gave Joe one last small, polite smile. "Until we meet again Joseph."

"Bye." Joe sighed staring after her as she disappeared up the stairs.

Anna followed behind her and stuck her tongue out at Joe.


	2. Chapter 2

Anna was practically bursting with excitement as Joleena wrote down her information. She honestly never thought that she would be able to study magic under one of the most highly sought after up and coming female magicians of her time. Uncle Joe had warned her that magicians like Joleena were very selective of who they taught or even associated with. As a matter of fact, Anna was supposed to be the first person that Joleena would mentor on a long term basis.

"Now Anna," Joleena closed her notebook. "Before I officially become your mentor we must lay down some rules."

"Anything!" Anna interrupted eagerly. "I swear I'll do whatever you tell me to do!"

"Anything?" Joleena arched an eyebrow. "Even if I told you to kill your brother? You would do this if I say to?"

Anna's smile dropped. "Uhhhh..."

Joleena clicked her tongue and shook her head slowly. "See Anna? You did not think, you were impatient, and now you must murder your brother in cold blood in order to appease me."

"I'm sorry," Anna lowered her head in embarrassment. "I'm just excited about all this."

"Anna dear, the magic world is full of excitement and razzle dazzle. And just as full of people eager to take advantage of young magicians like you. It is important to think through all of that and not get caught in sticky situations."

"Yes ma'am. " Anna mumbled.

Joleena nodded and her stern looked softened a little. "Now, back to what I was saying. In order for this to work we must lay down some rules. Number one- you must work hard and apply yourself. I cannot teach someone who will not learn. Number 2- I know what is best so you are not to question my methods unless you do so to gain understanding. And number 3, the most important rule of all,- if I say something is forbidden it is forbidden. I want no argument or show of bravery. Do you understand me?"

Joleena was staring at her so intently that Anna could only nod. Joleena nodded in return and gave her a small smile.

"Now," she said. "Give me your hands so I may assess your potential."

Anna placed her hands in Joleena's and watched in amazement as her eyes began to glow softly. She then gasped as she felt an odd and tingling warmth spread throughout her body. Images of her using The Book with perfect eased flashed before her eyes as well as other images that were out of focus and blurry. Joleena let go of her hands and her eyes returned to normal.

"A time traveler," She nodded. "With a clear mind and open heart. Good for spell casting and possibly divining."

Anna grinned in amazement. "Really? Can I really do all that?"

"Potential Anna, potential," Joleena patted her hand. "You have a lot of work to do before you are ready to cast even a simple spell."

"I do?" Anna's shoulders deflated a little. "Um...okay. Where do we start?"

"Latin." Joleena smiled brightly. "The root language of all spell casting."

Latin? Inwardly Anna cringed. Learning an old dead language wasn't really what she had in mind when she pictured finally being trained in magic. She pictured learning cool magic tricks to show off to Joe and his friends. Or learning more stuff about using The Book. Not that she needed much help in that department.

Just then there was a knock on the door and Joe walked in. He leaned against the doorway with a large grin on his face.

"Um, hey, Joleena." He said. "We're all going out for pizza, do you guys want to come with us?"

Anna frowned and could have sworn she saw a flash of irritation in Joleena's eyes. All Joleena did though was give her brother a small, polite smile and folded her hands neatly in her lap.

"No thank you Joseph. Anna and I are quite alright." She said.

"Are you sure?" Joe continued eagerly. "Cause it's a really cool pizza place."

This time Anna definitely noticed the irritation in Joleena's eyes and her smile became tight.

"I said no thank you." She said quietly. "Anna and I have a lot of work to do. So we would appreciate some privacy, non?"

Anna hoped that Joe would get the hint that Joleena was here for her and not him, but he just gave that goofy smile of his and didn't seem to register the fact that Joleena was just telling him to go away.

"Didn't you hear her?" Anna rolled eyes. "She isn't interested Joe, so go away."

Joleena glanced down at her. "Anna dear, there's no need to be rude."

"Yeah Anna, no need to be rude." Joe said smugly.

"Joseph," Joleena smiled and walked towards the door.

Joe perked up and smiled wider. "Yeah?"

"I am afraid that Anna and I have many things to go over today," She smiled sweetly. "So perhaps another time, oui?"

Joe smiled at her. "Yeah, sure. How about-"

"Another time, Joseph." Joleena interrupted with a smile and closed the door.

Anna burst out laughing and when Joleena sat back down she was giggling as well.

"Sorry about my brother." Anna chuckled.

"It's fine," Joleena flipped her hair. "But we have no time for silly distractions such as pizza. Now let you first lesson commence."


	3. Chapter 3

It took her a whole freaking year to learn Latin. One whole year of being picked up everyday after school by Joleena, taken to her lavish townhouse, and sit at a desk for hours; both doing her regular school work and Latin homework. It was a ridiculously difficult language to learn. It had almost all of the English letters except for w and j, but there were also accent marks, weird pronunciations, and not to mention I could be either a vowel or a consonant. Once she finally got all that down Joleena had her move on to first master reading Latin poetry and then lengthy Latin books.

The only bright side was that as Anna studied, Joleena also told her amazing stories about her travels, ex-boyfriends, and her own experiences in magic. Turns out Joleena came from a long line of magicians and sorceresses and her family was pretty well known within the magic communities. And it showed. Joleena rented a large and ornate townhouse that was lavishly decorated. She even had two maids to look after her.

"You are not focusing," Joleena chided softly in a teasing tone.

"I am, I am." Anna mumbled and went back to reading.

Joleena chuckled softly and patted her on the head. "Perhaps that is enough studying for now."

"Finally," Anna sighed in relief and closed the dictionary thick book and her notebook. "So, can you show me that really pretty trick again?"

"Weeeell..."

"Please?" Anna begged. "Please, please, pretty please?"

"Oh alright," Joleena smiled. "I see no harm in it."

She pulled Anna to her feet and made her stand directly in front of her. Closing her eyes and clearing her mind Anna grabbed her hands and waited. Joleena let out a long slow breath and she felt a now familiar warmth spread throughout her body. Sure enough her feet began to lift off of the ground and she trembled in excitement. Slowly, she cracked opened one eye. Her and Joleena were a floating a few feet off the ground, surrounded by softly glowing orbs and swirls that were usually shades of purple but now also had hints of pink.

"Am I really doing this too?" Anna whispered.

"Yes, Anna dear," Joleena smiled with her eyes still closed. "Our magic auras are intermingling. I am merely providing a source of release for it to flow."

"Incredible." Anna breathed.

"_Oui, c'est beau._"

The door bell rang jarringly in the silence, breaking both of their concentration and the spell. Anna let out a squeal as she suddenly fell and landed on her rear end while Joleena floated down softly.

"And that would be my brother." Anna sighed. "I'll go let him in."

"No, you can pack up your things. I shall get the door."

Anna nodded and began packing her books and notebooks into the the new backpack Joleena bought her. She heard laughing coming from downstairs and she rolled her eyes. During the course of a year Joleena had also thawed a little towards her brother. Not that they were dating or anything like that, but she didn't completely ignore Joe like she did when they first met. Anna hefted her bag over her shoulder and went downstairs.

They were standing in the living room together chatting.

"So Anna tells me that you two are on Spring Break Vacation," Joleena asked him. "So tell me, what is it that you plan to do?"

"I dunno," Joe shrugged. "Fred's going with his family to Bermuda, I think San-Li kidnapped Sam because he isn't answering his cell... so I guess it's television and movies for me. What about you?"

"Well I considered Paris for a little fashion trip," Joleena smiled and looked over at Anna. "But since Anna has made such progress with her Latin I'm thinking about taking her on a trip to Rome with me instead."

"Really," Anna's jaw dropped. "You're gonna take me to Rome!? As in Rome Italy?"

"Oui," Joleena nodded. "All I have to do is see to the matter of your passport, your visa, get permission from your parents, see about your shots..."

"Or..." Joe shot her a flirty grin. "I could just warp you two there myself."

Both Anna's and Joleena's smiles fell. For someone who was supposedly working to become the warp wizard Joe had gotten no better at using The Book.

"Joseph," Joleena said with a slight edge to her voice. "Please do not tell me that you brought that dangerous thing into my house."

Over time Anna learned that when Joleena got angry her French accent became more and more pronounced. Of course her brother was too dense to notice.

"Pfft, dangerous?" Joe scoffed reaching into his backpack. "Joleena, you have a bunch of dangerous magical texts in here. What are you so worried about?"

"_Joesph! You better not!" _Joleena's accent was reaching dangerous levels.

"Joe don't be stupid," Anna pleaded with him. "We were just messing with our auras ten seconds ago. Who knows what could happen if you use that in here?"

"Will you guys relax?" Joe laughed and winked at Joleena. "I've got this."

He opened up The Book started flipping through the pages. He kept smiling up at Joleena who kept glaring at him. Which explained why when he got a paper cut it caught him off guard causing him to yelp and drop it. There was a collective gasp as they all watched The Book fall and hit the floor. Anna closed her eyes and waited for the mist to warp them to some random place. She opened her eyes and there was a collective sigh of relief when nothing happened.

"See?" Joe gave a nervous laugh. "I have everything under control."

When he bent over to pick it up though, his phone fell out of his pocket and hit The Book, and then the mist came out and started to wrap around all three of them.

"Joseph..." Joleena's eyes began to glow. "_vous tromper ! Pourquoi n'êtes-vous pas plus prudent!"_

Joe's groveling apologies were the last thing Anna heard before the mist swallowed them up and warped them who knows where.

**A/N- If you can't tell I pretty much did a one year time skip. What I think I might do though is post a story where each chapter will be little glimpses about their everyday lives and them getting to know each other. Btw, San-Li "kidnapping" Sam is when Oh My Geisha is taking place. **


	4. Chapter 4

Every time Joe was around her, he had fleeting visions and a persistent, nagging feeling in the back of his mind that he couldn't quite explain. And every time his hand "accidentally" brushed against her he felt a spark go through him. Joleena was amazingly beautiful, there was no doubt about that, but Joe wasn't shallow. He just couldn't help but want to be around her and try to get to know her better. At first she was pretty cold to him. She barely glanced at him, only gave him the smallest, polite smiles, and whenever he tried to invite her to hang out with everyone she would find some excuse not to go.

Joleena was Anna's mentor, he got that, but hanging out with him once in a while couldn't hurt could it? He persisted for almost a year and was just now getting her to acknowledge his presence, but that nagging feeling wouldn't leave so he tried stepping up a little and tried to impress her with The Book and his pending Warp Wizard status. Didn't work. Joleena had dated and was friends with plenty of time travelers. But Joe kept trying and the next thing he knew Joleena was yelling at him in French and the green mist warped them away.

Joe and Anna landed hard on their knees on stone sidewalk while Joleena landed gracefully on her feet. Her face was tinted red from anger and she trembled in agitation.

"_Je ne peux pas croire que vous feriez quelque chose de si téméraire !" _Joleena continued ranting in French. "_Savez-vous même où nous sommes? Non, parce que vous n'êtes pas prudent avec cette chose."_

Anna looked embarrassed and shot a glare at Joe, but he couldn't help but smile.

"You know," He said with a small chuckle. "You're much cuter when you're angry."

Joleena's blush darkened a little and she tossed her head with a small huff. She then made a show of calming herself down and walked away from them mumbling to herself. Anna punched him in the arm and stood up.

"Ow!" Joe rubbed his shoulder. "What was that for?"

"You know exactly what that was for." Anna huffed following Joleena.

Joe rolled his eyes and followed after them. He looked around him as they walked and saw that they were in a busy town filled with people. Horse drawn carts rolled past them and vendors yelled out from their shops.

"Where are we going Joleena?" Anna asked.

"Find a clothing boutique." She answered over her shoulder. "If were are going to be here, where ever we are, we will want to blend in."

"Unless of course..." She glanced at Joe. "you know where you're book is?"

"No Joleena," He rolled his eyes. "you know I never know where The Book is where we warp."

"As usual." Anna mumbled under her breath.

They passed by several shops selling clothing and cloth, but Joleena walked by all of them without a second glance. They kept walking until the rough, uneven stones began to smooth and become more uniform. The stores too became more spaced out and became fancier. They finally stopped in front of the stores and went inside. The shop owner eyed the gold bangles on Joleena's arms and grinned broadly.

"Welcome, welcome." He said rubbing his hands eagerly. "Please, try on anything you want. My humble store is honored to have such a beautiful patron. Where are you three from my I ask?"

"France," Joleena answered for them and then laid a hand on Anna's head. "I am looking for something modest to fit my ward."

"Right this way." The shopkeeper lead them to a section with simple dresses lined with gold thread.

While Anna tried on a few dresses in the changing room Joe leaned against the wall and sunk to floor with a groan. Walking on uneven stones was not good for his feet. Joleena leaned next to him with a sigh and took off the wedge heels she was wearing. Joe saw the red, slightly raised lines on her feet where the straps cut into her feet and couldn't help but laugh a little.

"What?" Joleena asked tiredly.

"Want me to give you a foot massage?" Joe smirked gesturing at her feet.

The corners of Joleena mouth barely twitched upwards in a smile. "No thank you. I am used to the pain of walking in heels. I've worn them since I was nine."

"But why?" Joe chuckled. "Don't you ever just wear sneakers?"

"Perhaps I would if they had diamond laces." She gave a small smirk.

Anna came up to them to show off the dress she had picked out. It was a simple, sleeveless, off-white dress with a gold belt and a long strip of blue-green fabric that draped around her right side.

"It's adorable." Joleena cooed throwing her arms around her. "You look just like a baby doll!:

"Um, thanks." Anna smiled a bit awkwardly.

Despite his best efforts Joe picked something similar to what Anna was wearing, except with short sleeves, an orange sash, and a brown belt. As always Joleena picked out something stunning. Her dress hung off of one shoulder and was trimmed in gold. Her sash was a dark red that was tied around her waist and trailed onto the floor. Joleena gave the shopkeeper two of her gold bangles as payment and they left with the guy practically weeping with happiness. They kept walking until they were back in the town square where they started and looked around at all the shops.

"So," Anna turned to them. "Did you guys get a chance to ask the shop keeper if he knew where any books were?"

Joe and Joleena both stopped and looked at each other. A light blush spread across Joleena's cheeks and she started toying with her hair.

"Don't look at me," She said. "I was busy making sure we blended in. Besides, Joseph is supposed to be the future Warp Wizard, it's his job that we secure a way home."

"Me?" Joe frowned. "Why didn't Anna ask the shopkeeper herself when she was looking for outfits?"

"I was just doing what Joleena told me too." Anna shrugged. "Besides, you're the one who warped us here, Joe!"

"Yeah, Joseph stop blaming my dear pupil for your mistakes." Joleena said with a small smile.

"Whatever," Joe rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but smile when he heard Anna and Joleena giggling. "Anyways I think we're in ancient Rome or something. The clothing and stone streets look familiar to a warp Fred, Sam, and I had a some years ago."

"Ah, perfect!" Joleena clapped her hands together. "Anna, you can practice your Latin here!"

"Um, okay I guess I can do that." Anna looked around reading the signs over the shops.

"There!" Anna pointed at a shop down the street. "volumen tabernam. I think that translates to scroll shop. The Book could be in there."

"Great." Joe nodded. "I guess we start there then."

Unfortunately the scroll shop was big and completely messing. Scrolls and leather bound books were thrown haphazardly onto shelves and tables. They split up and started looking. After a while it was clear that The Book wasn't there. They went out and tried to figure out what to do next.

"Well what do we do now?" Anna asked. "Joleena? Any ideas? Joleena?"

Joe and Anna looked around an saw her at a jewelry stand across the street, trying on different pairs of earrings. Joe resisted to roll his eyes and watched as Anna ran across the street to go to her. Suddenly, the street seemed to vibrate as a large and ornate chariot with a carriage attachment and no driver came thundering around the corner. Anna tripped halfway across and fell directly in the horses' path. Joe ran into the street and threw himself into Anna, knocking her out of the way. The horses horses just went wild though and began raining down hoofs all around them. Joe shielded Anna's body with his and tried to protect her head from any of the powerful hooves.

Suddenly, the was a flash of purple light and Joleena stood in front of them. She held out a glowing hand to each horse and whispered something foreign under her breath. The horses eyes glowed purple for half a second and they calmed down.

Joleena turned towards them with a worried expression. "Are you two alright?"

Before they had a chance to answer a pale, skinny man in a loin cloth came running and grabbed the reins.

"I am so so sorry," He panted. "I-"

"What's going on out there!?" An angry voice yelled from the carriage attachment.

A muscular man dressed in a toga, gold breast plate, and purple cloth stepped out of the carriage and glared at the skinny man.

"I'm sorry master Cato," He pleaded bowing so low that his forehead touched the ground. "The horses saw a snake and just panicked."

"You idiot!" Cato kicked him in the shoulder and turned angrily to them. "And you three! How dare you block my passage?"

Joleena ignored him and bent down towards Anna leaving Joe to do all the explaining.

"Can you stand?" Joleena asked her.

"Um," Anna tried and winced when she tried to put weight on her left foot. "Sorta."

"This will not do," Joleena shook her head and stood facing Cato . "You sir..."

Cato pushed Joe aside and looked Joleena up and down, a slow smiling spreading across his face. "At your service."

"Yes, well," Joleena's eyes narrowed. "Your horses nearly trampled my ward and now I'm afraid she's hurt her ankle."

"Husband? Is everything alright?"

A woman who looked like she was about twenty stepped out of the carriage and was dressed just as richly as Cato.

"Everything thing is fine, Antonia," Cato was still smiling at Joleena. "We've narrowly avoided a tragic accident and I was just going to invite them to our villa for dinner and a rest."

"We thank you sir," Joleena nodded and her expression softened a little.

"Please," Cato smiled and kissed her hand. "Call me Cato."

Joe didn't like he but Joleena nodded at him to help her get Anna into the carriage and they sat across from Cato and Antonia. Cato was staring at Joleena with a disgusting smile on his face, but Joleena was too preoccupied making sure that Anna wasn't hurt to notice. Joe definitely noticed though and draped an arm around Joleena's shoulder to send a clear message. Joleena shot him a look but didn't say anything.

"Are you sure that we should go with this guy?" Joe whispered to her. "You saw how he treated his driver."

"Joe, Anna's ankle could be sprained, she can't go walking around on it." She whispered back. "Besides, wealthy men like Cato probably have personal libraries. We might find The Book there."

"Alright," Joe shrugged. "If you say so. And, Joleena..."

"Oui?"

Joe smiled and his grip tightened on her shoulders a little. "You look beautiful in that dress."

"Ugh." Joleena tossed her head away from him, but not before he could see the blush on her face.


	5. Chapter 5

Cato's villa sat on a hill over looking the beach a little ways away from the city. Anna had time traveled to incredible places before, but this place was absolutely breath taking. The chariot drove onto smooth, mosaic stones and stopped in front of a stone entry way. Cato got out and gave a hand to his wife and Joe practically jumped out in order to be the first to help Joleena down. They both held their hands out to her and Joleena threw Anna an exasperated look before stepping down by herself. Joe looked disappointed but Cato merely looked amused. He then turned to Anna with a charming smile.

"And would you like assistance?" He said. "Or do you prefer to get out on your own?"

"I'll help her." Joe grumbled pushing past Cato.

He kneeled down in front of the door and gestured for her to climb on his back. He grunted a little when she settled her weight onto him and for a moment she was afraid that he might not be strong enough to carry her. But Joe readjusted her to sit a little lower on his back and was able to hold her better.

"Lead the way, Cato." Joe said.

Cato gave an amused chuckle and wrapped an arm around both Joleena's and Antonia's waists. Anna could practically feel Joe trembling with rage as he followed Cato inside. There was a mosaic designs of horses and chariots on the floor of the entrance. A large dark skinned man and several woman wearing similar simple robes bowed low to Cato and his wife.

"Welcome to my home," Cato smiled at them. "You three may rest here while your ward's ankle heals. While she recovers please feel free to roam around my gardens or my private beach. And I hope..."

Cato grabbed Joleena's hand in his and gave a small bow. "I hope to see you at dinner tonight?"

Anna saw a little irritation flash in Joleena's eyes but she smiled and nodded. "Yes, all three of us will be there."

"Excellent." Cato smiled and kissed Joleena's hand.

"Wife." He then turned to Antonia and kissed her on the cheek.

Antonia gave Joleena a special glare and gestured towards the waiting servants.

"They will show you to your rooms." She said. "And shall notify you when dinner is ready."

"We thank you for your hospitality my lady." Joleena bowed low to her.

Antonia gave her a curt nod and walked away briskly. One of the servants bowed low to them and ushered them to adjoining rooms. One room had two beds while the other had one. Both were decorated with pillars wrapped in cloth, plants, vases, and mosaic patterns on the walls and floor.

"Dinner shall be ready in a few hours." She said before leaving, shutting the door behind her.

Joe set Anna down on one of the double beds and groaned theatrically, stretching his back. Joleena rolled her eyes and sat down next to her.

"How is it feeling?" She asked gently.

"It's not that bad really." Anna winced. "It's just sore that's all."

Joe sat down on the other side of her and gently took off her sandal so he could look at her ankle. There was a mid sized dark red bruise right above the ankle bone as well as some small scratches. Joe pressed it gently and Anna grimaced a little.

"I don't think it's broken or sprained." Joe said with some uncertainty. "But you definitely shouldn't walk on it for a day or two."

"I'm just glad it wasn't more serious." Joleena sighed in relief and smiled at Joe, touching his hand lightly. "I must say I am almost impressed with your quick thinking and speed."

"Oh yeah?" Joe smiled broadly and chuckled. "Is that almost a compliment from the great Joleena? What an honor."

Joleena startled to laugh but when she realized Anna was watching them she cleared her throat and quickly pulled her hand away.

"Yes well," Joleena flipped her hair and assumed her usual formal expression. "Thank you."

"Your welcome." Joe sighed and stood up. "Imma go ahead and let you rest Anna. Later Joleena."

He patted her head and gave Joleena one final smile before leaving for his own room next to theirs. Joleena watched him leave and had a small blush on her face making Anna raise an eyebrow and look at her suspiciously.

"I thought you didn't like my brother." She said with a small smirk.

"What?" Joleena started and looked blank. "I like him well enough. He seems like a nice boy."

"Well he certainly likes you." Anna said in a slightly teasing tone. "A lot."

Joleena blushed but she sighed sadly and patted her head. "Anna, many men and boys have called me beautiful and said that they _like_ me. It does not mean that they actually like _me_. Understand?"

"I dunno about that," Anna shrugged. "He's been working pretty hard for almost a whole year just to get close to you."

Joleena laughed and toyed with her hair. "Oui, your brother is very persistent."

"Because he likes you." Anna insisted with a grin. "And you like him don't you?"

Joleena blushed harder but shook her head with a small laugh. "That is enough talk about boys and love for today. Come, let us try focusing your magic."

"Okay!" Anna perked up and forgot all about her brother.

With some effort she crossed her legs and sat across from Joleena who copied her pose. Joleena then had Anna hold out her hands apart from each other with her palms facing inward.

"Now," Joleena said in a whisper. "Close your eyes and take deep breaths. Clear your mind. Feel the your own heartbeat. Feel the air around your body."

Anna did what Joleena said and could feel a strange, tingling warmth from inside move throughout her body. The very air seemed to pulse and vibrate around her hands.

"The energy and heat you feel," Joleena whispered, "that is your magic. If you concentrate you can focus it into something tangible and beautiful. And over time it will be second nature."

Anna breathed out slowly, opened her eyes, and gasped. A soft pink light was emanating from her palms and was creating a small orb of light in the space between them. She made an exclamation of excitement and the whole thing exploded in a shower of sparks. Most of them landed harmlessly but some of them ignited small pink fires on the bed. Anna shrieked and almost fell off the bed.

"Zut! Zut! Zut!" Joleena cried out patting out the bed with her hands.

"What is it!? What's going on!" Joe yelled, bursting into the room.

Joleena spun around, cried out in surprise, and actually did fall off the bed.

"Joe!" Anna flushed in embarrassment. "You don't have a shirt on!"

"Sorry, sorry." Joe laughed blushing and backed back into his room. "Just trying to make sure you guys were alright."

Before he left he shot Joleena a one last slightly flirty grin and then closed the door. Joleena stood up still flushed, trembling, and couldn't look at any of them. She mumbled something about needing some air and rushed out of the room. Anna groaned and flopped back onto the bed. Teenagers were stupid.


	6. Chapter 6

It turned out that dinner was more like a banquet. About forty people all in elegant robes, dresses, and togas lounged around low couches while slaves served food. And what a spread it was. Roasted chicken and fish, varieties of fruits and vegetables, soups, breads, cakes, water, and wine. Musicians were also playing music in the corner. Normally Joe would enjoy this part of the warp but it was hard to enjoy anything when Joleena was sitting next to Cato and laughing with him like they were old friends. What bothered him even more was that there were two other girls Joleena's age wearing robes so shear they were almost see through. They were also laughing at everything Cato said. No wonder why Antonia was glaring at all four of them from the other side of the room.

One of the slaves set down a small glass of wine next to Anna and Joe took it away and replaced it with a glass of water.

"I think I know better than to drink, Joe." Anna said rolling her eyes.

"I'm just looking out for you." Joe grumbled not taking his eyes off of Joleena and Cato.

"I'm almost thirteen now, Joe. You don't have take care of me all the time." Anna said softly.

The corner of his mouth twitched up in a smile. "You're twelve."

"I'll be thirteen in less than a month. That's close enough."

Joe laughed and turned to look at her when his eyes fell on her scar and that all too familiar twinge of guilt came back after being gone for so long. Anna must have known what he was feeling because she sighed and laid her hand on top of his.

"Joleena always tells me that you should never let the past do anything but propel you forward." She said. "She says that feeling guilty over past mistakes will only distract you from learning from them."

"What? Do you two talk about me behind my back or something?" Joe asked with a small laugh.

"Maybe." Anna smirked. "She may even like you a little."

"Really?" Joe looked over towards Joleena.

With Cato's attention momentarily distracted by one of the other girls Joleena now looked distracted and was playing with a lock of her hair. Joe waited until she looked in his direction. He smiled at her and gestured towards the door way. She blushed and looked away but nodded.

Joe stood up to leave and patted Anna on the head in thanks on the way out. He wandered a little until he found an open courtyard with a large fountain in the center. He leaned against the basin and waited for Joleena to show. After about fifteen minutes she finally showed and slowly walked over to him. He smiled at her but she just looked at him with her arms folded across her chest.

"Well Joseph?" She asked with one eyebrow raised. "What is it that you want from me?"

"What do I want from you?" Joe frowned at her in confusion. "What do you mean what do I want from you? I thought I made it pretty clear that I like you. A lot."

"But why?" Joleena asked suspiciously. "Because I am beautiful? Because I am wealthy? I've heard it all before Joseph and I must say that I am tired of hearing it."

"Well," Joe narrowed his eyes and folded his arms as well. "You're also self-conceited, spoiled, shallow, and have almost no sense of humor or how to have fun like a normal person. Has anyone ever told you that, Joleena?"

Joleena's lips twitched upwards in a half smile but her arms remained crossed.

"Then tell me Joseph," she said. "If I am all of that then why did you work for an entire year just to try and get close to me? And why are you still trying to get closer?"

Joe sighed and unfolded his arms. He chuckled a little in embarrassment. "Honestly? I have no idea. It's just this gut feeling that...I need to be with you. And I do really, really like you."

"Gut feeling?" Joleena's expression became thoughtful. "What do you mean?"

"I dunno," Joe shrugged. "It's just...a feeling. That we should be together."

Joleena smirked a little. "How do you we aren't just meant to be good friends?"

"Trust me," Joe chuckled and stepped a little closer to her. "I think it's a little stronger than that."

"And what makes you think that I would feel the same way?" Joleena's voice dropped to a low whisper and she smiled softly. "I wouldn't normally date such an undistinguished magician such as yourself. I am shallow after all."

"And I normally wouldn't be interested in someone so high maintenance." Joe chuckled and grabbed her hands in his. "But I'm willing to lower my standards for you."

He closed the distance between them and their lips met softly. Joe saw fireworks and it wasn't because of any visions. Her lips tasted sweet like strawberries and were incredibly soft. If he wasn't careful he could easily become addicted to them. When they pulled away for air Joleena looked down in puzzlement at the item Joe managed to slip into her hand using an old trick Uncle Joe taught him before they stopped talking.

"What is this?" Joleena said unfolding it.

Joe smiled and placed a hand on her hip drawing her closer. It was the photograph they had taken last year at the spring carnival. Despite telling him that she didn't like him only moments before, the picture showed them in the haunted house attraction kissing like they had already been dating forever.

"I told you that it would be a sign of things to come." He chuckled.

Joleena playfully elbowed him in the ribs. "Are you sure you haven't been practicing your time magic? Because apparently you are already good at prophesy."

"Yeah?" Joe grinned. "Yeah, I think your right. Maybe it's- ah!"

Suddenly, a sharp pain went through his head and his eyes began to throb. He was suddenly standing in the middle of a gladiator's arena as it crumbled down all around him while dark gray snow fell from the sky. The vision changed and he saw a woman with dark purple magic coming from her hands whose face he couldn't see, holding up Anna by her throat while she struggled to free herself. The vision suddenly stopped and Joe blinked and saw Joleena was looking at him in concern.

"Just now, your eyes were glowing green which means that you've just had a vision." She whispered urgently. "What did you see?"

Joe's knees trembled and she helped him sit down on the edge of the fountain. She gripped his hands and he began to feel a little better. He told her what he saw and her look of concern only grew stronger.

"Come on," She said standing up. "Let's get back to Anna."

"Right." Joe nodded and grabbed her hand.

Out of nowhere the ground gave a small shudder and Joleena stumbled against him. Some of the water splashed out of the fountain base and a vase fell off of one of the pedestals and shattered.

"It is not your vision already is it?" She asked slightly panicked.

Joe shook his head. "It can't be. It was day light in the arena. But I'd feel a lot better if we were with Anna."

"There you two are."

They both looked up to see Cato walking towards them. He had an empty wine glass in his hand and he swayed a little as he walked. Joe felt Joleena tense and he protectively wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I see that you found my lovely courtyard." Cato smiled walking towards them. "Lovely night to be with a lovely young woman, eh Joe?"

Joe bent down and whispered quickly in her ear. "Go find Anna and keep an eye on her. I want to talk to Cato for a minute. Maybe I'll find out if he's seen The Book."

Joleena shot him a worried looked but nodded. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and watched as she left. Cato also watched her leave and Joe's fist clenched.

"Hey Cato," He said. "I've been meaning to talk to you about something."

"Have you now?" Cato smiled in amusement. "Funny I've been meaning to speak to you as well. A little... proposition for you. Concerning that beautiful Joleena of yours."

"She isn't for sale." Joe growled and felt his fists heat up with some strange energy.

Cato's smile became a sneer and Joe felt something hit him in the back of his head. His legs turned to water and buckled under him and the edges of his vision went black as he fell on one knee. Cato leaned down and laughed in his face as he slowly lost consciousness.

"Congratulations Joe." Cato snickered. "In return for allowing your girlfriend to become one of my mistresses, I'm going to allow you the honor of becoming one of my gladiators. Tomorrow, before all of Pompeii, you shall fight in the arena and die an honorable death. And maybe,"

He leaned down closer to Joe's ear, "If on the off chance you survive and earn your freedom, I might let you buy her back for a night or two."

Joe tried to stand but his last remaining consciousness left him and everything went dark.


	7. Chapter 7

Joleena came back to the banquet room, but her brother and Cato didn't. When Anna asked her about it, Joleena just patted her hand and told her not to worry and her brother would be back soon. Anna peered closer at her and noticed that her lip gloss was looking a little smudged.

"You and my brother weren't out there kissing were you?" Anna teased.

Joleena blushed bright red. "You don't mind do you?"

"Of course not!" Anna squealed and hugged her tightly. "I think it's cool that you two are together now."

"Yes it is." Joleena sighed and looked towards the door.

"I'm sure he'll be back soon. ..Right?" Anna said starting to feel a little worried.

"Right."

But the night got later and later and Joe never came back to the dinning room. The men and woman started to get louder and rowdier the more they drunk and eventually Joleena said that they should get back to their rooms.

"How does your ankle feel?" Joleena asked sitting on her bed.

"It's a lot better now." Anna said. "I wonder what's keeping Joe?"

"I don't know," Joleena bit her lip. "But staying up all night isn't going to bring him back any sooner. Let's try and get some sleep."

Joleena blew out the lamp and went to sit on her bed. Anna pulled the covers over her but had trouble falling asleep. She didn't know why but she couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

The bright sunlight woke her up and she looked around to find the room empty.

"Joe?" She called. "Joleena?"

She got out of bed and gingerly stepped down, testing her swore ankle and was relieved to find that the pain was almost completely gone.

"Joe? Joleena? Are you guys here?" She called out again.

Joleena came into the room with a worried expression on her face. "Anna, are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine." Anna slipped her shoes on. "Where's Joe? Did he ever come back?"

"No he didn't" Joleena sighed. "I do not understand. He said that he was just going to speak to Cato about something and be right back."

There was a knock on the door and the two of them went to it eagerly expecting Joe. Joleena sighed in disappointment when they opened to door to see a servant holding a basin of water for them to wash in. Anna took the water inside of the room and gave a little scream of surprise when she glanced down at it.

"What is it, mon chere?" Joleena asked.

"I-I thought I saw something," Anna whispered. "I thought I saw something in the water."

Joleena's eyes widened and she rushed over to her. "That could be your divining power coming out. Here, set the water down on the floor."

Anna did what she asked and Joleena gestured for her on sit on the floor across from it.

"Now," Joleena said her voice low. "I want you to try and focus your magic into her finger tips and then gently touch the surface of the water."

Anna breathed in deeply, felt her fingers grow warm with energy, and touched the center of the water until it began to ripple. She peered into the water and saw an image slowly come into focus. She gasped and the imaged disappeared.

"Well," Joleena whispered urgently. "What did you see?"

"Joe is in chains somewhere!" Anna cried out fearfully. "It looked like some kind of under ground dungeon or that holding room where they hold gladiators."

"_Ce Salaud_ !" Joleena leapt up angrily. "Cato is behind this I know he is!"

"What are we going to do?" Anna asked standing up as well.

"You?" Joleena paused on her way out the door. "You will stay safely here while I go find Cato and find out where Joseph is being held."

"Don't treat me like a child Joleena! Joe's my brother and I want to help!" Anna snapped without meaning to.

Joleena ignored her though and continued down the hallway in fast strides and Anna almost had to run to catch up with her. They rounded the corner and saw Antonia walking down the hall ahead of them.

"Antonia!" Joleena called to her. "Antonia! Where is Cato? I must speak to him."

Antonia turned around slowly and glared at Joleena. Her mouth twitched and she slapped Joleena in the face. Anna screamed as Joleena's head jerked with the force of the blow. Her hair fell over her face and she was breathing heavily.

"How dare you ask for my husband to my face, you whore!?" Antonia screeched.

She tried to slap Joleena again, but before she could make contact Joleena's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. Antonia struggled to break free as Joleena straightened slowly. She gingerly touched the corner of her bleeding mouth and looked at Antonia coldly.

"If you ever strike me again." She said slowly. "I'll make sure you have nightmares for years."

Joleena thrust away Antonia's wrist and the two continued to glare at each other. Anna had no idea what to do so she was actually relieved when Cato walked towards them.

"What's going on here?" He thundered.

"I'm so sick of you parading your whores in front of me!" Antonia screeched in his face. "I am your wife and you will not treat me so!"

Cato slapped her across the face and she fell to the floor hard with a cry of pain. He then turned to the two of them and bowed.

"I apologize for my wife's outburst." He said. "I hope she did not hurt you too badly-"

"Where is Joseph?" Joleena interrupted angrily. "What did you do with him?"

Cato smiled at her, but his smile was cold. "I was just coming to find you to take you to him. We have prepared a little... surprise for you. Your ward may come as well if she wishes."

Anna wanted badly to say yes so she could help Joleena save her brother, but then she remembered what Joleena always told her about biding her time and planning out every angle. Staying at Cato's didn't seem to be an option anymore so they would need The Book a.s.a.p.

"I think I'd rather stay here." Anna said slowly. "Maybe I could see your library?"

"Very well," Cato nodded. "My wife will show-"

"I'd very much rather she didn't." Joleena pointed glared at Antonia.

Antonia stood up slowly and matched Joleena's glare. They were now both bleeding out of the corner of their mouths. Cato looked back and forth between them amused and snapped his fingers for a servant. An old man came running and bowed low to them.

"Show Anna to my library and let her browse there as long as she likes." He ordered him. "Joleena, Antonia and I are going out."

"I beg you to excuse me husband," Antonia mumbled angrily. "I now have the most terrible headache."

"Very well, it doesn't matter to me." Cato waved his hand dismissively.

"No," Antonia walked away and cast one last look at Joleena. "I suppose not."

Joleena ignored Cato's outstretched hand and turned to Anna.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" She asked quietly. "It may not be exactly safe for you here."

"I'll be fine." Anna assured her. "Besides, we may want a quick escape when you rescue Joe. When I find The Book I can just ask it to take me where you guys are."

"Or we'll meet you back here." Joleena pulled her into a tight hug. "Be safe, Anna. And be careful."

"I will."

Anna waved at the front door as Cato's personal chariot drove away and Joleena gave her another worried look. Anna tried to repress the shudder that ran through her. She whirled around sure that someone was watching her, but the only one behind her was the servant, waiting to take her to the library. She really hoped the should would find The Book soon.


	8. Chapter 8

He came to somewhere dark and musty. He groaned and tried to move but found that his arm was shackled to the ground. He pulled at it frantically but it held firm. He looked around again and realized that he was in some sort of underground cell.

"Hey!" He called out. "Hey is anyone out there?"

Someone stirred on the other side of the cell. "Quiet down, kid. I'm trying to sleep here."

Joe peered into the darkness to try and see who was in the cell with him. He could actually make out a few figures who appeared to be either sleeping or just lounging around. Joe tried to pin point the person who had spoken.

"Um, hello?" Joe called. "Someone knocked me out and put me down here. I need to back to my girlfriend and my little sister."

One of the figures laughed. "Sounds to me like you crossed paths with Cato."

"Yeah," Joe blinked. "How'd you-"

The person laughed again and it definitely wasn't a pleasant sound. "Because I killed the last guy he bought in here."

The other men laughed all around him.

"Yeah Cato put us in here to fight."

"We're either slaves or criminals and we fight to earn our freedom."

"And it looks like you aren't going to last to long boy!" Everyone laughed again.

"Listen, I have to get out of here." Joe gave another tug on his shackle. "Has anyone tried to figure out a way out of here?"

Before anyone could answer him there was the sound of heavy boots coming down the hall as well as the clanging of metal. A large man wearing a fancy robe walked up to the cell followed by guards heavily dressed in armor.

"Alright men," The guy in the fancy robe yelled. "The time has come for you fight in the name of Pompeii and your masters!"

He made a gesture with his hand and the guards came in to unshackle them from the floors and walls and took them into another room. There they forced them to put on light armor, gave them rusty weapons and shields, forced them into bright sunlight. Joe blinked and realized that he was standing in the middle of a dirt arena.

"Oh, no."

Thousands of people in the stands were yelling; a mixture of cheering and booing. The men around him started posturing with their weapons and yelling back making the crowd go even crazier. Across the arena another group of dirty and heavily scarred men came out and stood across from them, posturing as well. And out of a third entrance the fancy dressed man came out and the crowd went nuts.

"Citizens of Pompeii," He called out. "We bring before you today a grand fight between Cato's gladiators-"

He gestured to Joe's group causing the crowd to cheer wildly.

"-and Marcus's gladiators."

He gestured to the gladiators on the other side and again the crowd cheered.

"Those who survive will live to fight another day. ALL HAIL POMPEII!"

"ALL HAIL POMPE!"

The crowd echoed him and the next thing Joe knew groups were running towards each other with their weapons raised and a battle cry. Joe stepped away from the fighting looked around desperately for an escape route. Everyone was screaming and cheering, a few boos seemed to be aimed at him, but one voice cut through them all.

"Stop this! Stop this immediately, Cato!"

"Joleena!?" Joe looked around the seats wildly for her. "Joleena where are you?"

He spotted her in a decorated viewing box, high and to the left, and ran towards her. Joleena spotted him tried to lean over to box to call to him, but Cato grabbed her harm and roughly tried to pull her back to him.

"Leave her alone, Cato!" Joe yelled.

"Perhaps you should pay more attention to the fights, Joe!" Cato yelled.

"Joseph, behind you!" Joleena screamed.

Joe turned and saw one of the gladiators running towards him with his sword upraised. Joe put up his shield but the blow was so hard that he was knocked into the wall. He dodged the next blow, but then when the gladiator swiped upwards, the tip of the sword caught his hand and he dropped his shield with a cry of pain.

Joleena turned to Cato, her face blazing with rage. "Let. Me. Go!"

Joleena grabbed the front of Cato's robes and kneed him hard in the crouch. He doubled over with a howl of pain and Joleena slammed her forehead into his nose, knocking him out with a sickening crunch. Joe's jaw literally dropped.

"Joseph!"

He turned just in time to block the other gladiator's sword with his own. But the gladiator was stronger and was able to knock his sword out of his hand. The gladiator then lifted his sword again with a war cry, but suddenly Joleena jumped from the stands and landed directly on top of the gladiator effectively knocking him out.

Joe breathed out a sigh of relief and reached out for her. "Joleena are you-"

Suddenly the ground began to shake violently. They both stumbled and Joleena fell into him. The crowd's cheering turned to screaming and panic. Even the gladiators stopped killing each other and looked around in panic and confusion. The shaking began to get worse and there was an ear shattering explosion. Joe looked up and saw that the top of one of the mountains was gone and was replaced by a pillar of black smoke. Dark gray ash began to shower down on them.

"Joleena!" Joe yelled above the noise. "We need to get out of here! Where's Anna?"

"She's back at the villa. She's looking for The Book!" Joleena yelled back.

Joe looked at her like she was insane. "You left her at that place by herself!?"

"Look out!" Joleena pushed him out of the way before a large piece of concrete could land on them. She fell on top of him and for a moment Joe was distracted by the scent of her perfume.

"I care about her too," Joleena grunted getting off of him. "But she's a big girl, Joseph. Now's not the time to baby her."

"And now's not the time to discuss this." Joe pulled her too her feet. "Come on, we have to get out of here before we get buried in rubble."

They ran towards exit but it was already slammed with people all struggling to get out. Joleena grabbed his arm and pulled him over the side towards a part of the wall that wasn't crumbling. She took a deep breath and trust both of her fist forward, shooting a burst of magic energy that blasted straight through to the other side.

"You are absolutely incredible." Joe breathed and then grabbed her hand. "Now let's get the hell out of here!"


	9. Chapter 9

Anna searched frantically for The Book amongst all of Cato's books and scrolls.

"Please be here, please be here." She whispered under her breath.

Cato's library was huge and it was taking her forever to try and go through it all. She quickly moved to the next book shelf and accidentally knocked over one of the books. She cringed and bent down to pick it up when she noticed a small, faint light coming from under the book case.

"That's odd." She mumbled.

She looked behind the book case and saw that it wasn't quite pushed up against the wall. Anna gave an experimental tug and it slowly creaked open to reveal a hidden room filled with more books and scrolls and dimly lit by candle light. Anna looked around quickly to make sure no one was watching and slipped inside.

As soon as she picked up the first book she could feel a strange energy radiating through it which meant only one thing; magic. Anna couldn't help but smile eagerly. She had a theory that Joleena probably had a room like this at her house since there were two rooms that Joleena had expressly forbidden Anna to go into. But right now Anna had more important things to think about.

"Yes! I found it!" Anna yelled triumphantly grabbing The Book off of a side table.

She started thumbing through it, trying to find the page that could recall someone to a location or time period.

"Well, what do we have here?" A menacing voice said behind her.

Anna spun around with a small shriek and saw Antonia standing behind her and she did not look happy.

"First your whore guardian tries to seduce my husband right under my nose, and now I see that her ward is trying to steal from me." Antonia said with cold menace.

"Hey! Joleena is not a whore and she's not trying to seduce Cato." Anna said angrily. "And besides I'm not stealing anything from you. This book belongs to my brother."

"LIAR!" Antonia shrieked.

The books on the desk exploded in a flash of dark purple light and Anna jumped in surprise. Uh-oh.

* * *

Joe and Joleena ran through the streets of Pompeii as it crumbled and burned down around them. People were running in all different directions in total and complete panic. Dark gray ash was showering down on top of them making it nearly impossible to see. Every now and again though Joleena would wave her hand and a blast of wind would clear their vision for a few seconds.

"How much further is it?" Joleena yelled.

"It should be up this hill!" Joe yelled back and then stopped. "Oh, no."

The once smooth stone path leading up to the villa was literally breaking apart and the villa itself was on fire.

"Anna!" Joleena took off at a run towards the villa.

"Joleena, be careful!" Joe yelled running after her.

Joleena's foot caught on an upturned stone and she disappeared from sight. Joe yelled out for her but got no response. He felt his heart drop into his stomach as he ran to where she disappeared, fearing the worst. The ash was beginning to blind him again but he kept going.

"Joseph stay back!" Joleena yelled from somewhere below him.

Joe dropped to his knees at a large, widening fissure in the ground and peered over the edge. Joleena was hanging on a ragged piece of rock right below the edge with a gaping void beneath her. Her shoes were gone and blood ran from a large cut on her leg.

"Are you okay?" Joe yelled and pulled her up.

"I'm fine." Joleena winced, pain clear on her face. "Come on, we have to get to Anna."

Joe nodded and helped her to her feet and together they ran to the villa.

* * *

"Antonia, stop it!" Anna screamed and dodged another flying vase. "In case you haven't noticed the whole house is literally falling apart!"

Antonia just kept screaming and chasing her through the villa. Her eyes and hands were glowing dark purple as she used her magic to throw anything she could at Anna. The was shaking so bad that she could barely run, let alone dodge the pieces of falling concrete and pillars. Anna turned to try and reason with Antonia again when a vase hit her forehead, knocking her off her feet. Her vision blurred momentarily and warm, sticky blood ran down her face over her right eye. Once her vision cleared she saw Antonia floating towards her looking cold and menacing. Anna looked around wildly to try and find an exit and was horrified to realize that she had accidentally run towards the back of the villa and now they were literally hanging over the ocean as the house began to further rip apart.

"I am so sick of being treated like horse droppings." Antonia said slowly. "I am so tired of being powerless, so I found a new sense of power."

"Please," Anna struggled to get up. "Antonia, if you don't stop now we'll be buried!"

"SHUT UP!"

Antonia tried to blast her with magic and Anna was able to come up with a weak shield to block it but it shattered with Antonia's second blast. Antonia then thrust her glowing hand out and Anna was violently lifted off of the ground. She floated directly to Antonia and she wrapped her hands around her neck and started squeezing.

Anna felt The Book drop from her hands and tried to claw herself out of Antonia's grip. She tried to scream but couldn't even draw breath.

"Let go of her this instant!" She heard Joleena scream.

There was a blast of purple light and Antonia screamed in pain and dropped Anna. She scrambled for The Book as the whole side of the villa began to tilt. She looked up to see Joleena and Joe, covered in blood and soot staring down Antonia.

Antonia turned slowly and glared at Joleena. "It's you. The whore trying to steal my husband."

Joleena matched her glare and held her hand out ready to blast her again. "Step away from, Anna."

Antonia just laughed and they fired their magic at each other in beams of dark purple and light purple light. Joe took the opportunity to run to Anna and grabbed her shoulders.

"Are you okay?" Joe yelled. "Your bleeding!"

"I'm fine!" Anna yelled back and held The Book up. "I found this in Antonia's secret library."

Joe nodded looking only a little relieved. "Good. Now let's get Joleena so we can-"

"Ah!" Joleena was knocked into a pillar hard and slid into the floor holding her side.

Antonia turned her attention to Joe and Anna but Joleena created a chain with her magic, whipped it around Antonia's ankle, and flung her away. Joleena stood up shakily and hurried over to the balcony with Joe and Anna.

"Do we have a way out of here or not?" Joleena asked still holding her side.

"Right." Joe took The Book from Anna and opened it.

Just as the green mist started to come out a dark blast of purple light knocked The Book out of his hand and it landed on the edge of the balcony and tottered there precariously. Anna ran to get it before it fell and Joleena went after her. A blast of purple light hit her in the back and she slammed into the rail of the balcony. Anna grabbed The Book before it fell and Joe turned to see Antonia aiming her hand at him. The blast left her hand but deflected off of a wall of light that cut them off from Antonia.

Joe turned to see that Joleena had one arm raised and was creating the shield and Anna was at her side. He started to move towards them but there was a sharp cracking sound that was sharper than even all of the destruction going on around them, and dark purple light crack the area around Joleena and Anna.

"Joleena! Anna!" Joe screamed as the cracks exploded and the section of balcony they were on fell.

"Nooo!"

**A/N- Thanks for reading and please, please, please don't forget to leave me a review**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N-Last chapter guys!**

Antonia smiled as her dark purple magic cracked the balcony around Joleena and Anna. Anna got one look at Joe's terrified face before they fell towards the ocean and rocks below. Her stomach rose into her throat as she clung to Joleena and screamed.

"Anna, remain calm," Joleena yelled giving her a small, sad smile. "You'll be okay."

Before she could ask what she meant Joleena let go of Anna and used her magic to fling her back onto the remaining balcony and landed her next to Joe. Joleena's arms then went limp as she passed out and continued to plummet to the ocean rocks below. At the same time the shield that protected began to shatter and Antonia cackled darkly.

"Joleena!" Anna screamed tears falling from her face.

Joe rushed to the edge and held out both hands.

"Slow!" He yelled in an authoritative voice.

A green light came over the falling section of balcony and it's descent slowed until it stopped completely. Antonio shrieked in anger and began to pound on the shield, her magic cracking it further. Anna cast a wary look at her and watched as the veins in Joe's neck strained and he took several deep breaths.

"Reverse."

The section of balcony, the rubble around it, and even some of the soot itself began to slowly float upwards. Antonia's screaming and banging intensified as the balcony reassembled itself. Joe's knees trembled and he fell on his hands and knees and struggled to catch his breath.

"Is she...okay?" Joe panted.

Anna ran to Joleena and put her ear to her chest to listen to her heartbeat. It was faint and slow but the important thing was that it was there. Tears of relief stung Anna's eyes.

"She's okay," Anna whispered. "She's going to be okay-"

There was an ear splitting shattering noise and the shield finally disintegrated. Antonia sneered at them and gathered her magic in her fists.

"If I do not destroy you," She said darkly. "The Tenebrosi Sanction will."

She began to cackle loudly and a large piece of concrete fell from the ceiling directly above her. Before it could crush her however, Antonia blasted the rock with one hand and turned it into dark purple smoke in the shape of a twisting serpent. Instead of disappearing it twisted to face them and reared back to strike.

"Anna, quick! Use The Book!" Joe yelled.

Anna quickly opened it and the green mist came pouring out and covered the three of them, warping them home at last.

* * *

They landed in a dirty, sooty heap in the middle of Joleena's sitting room. Joleena groaned in pain and held her side. Anna began to feel dizzy and all but collapsed against her shoulder.

Joe placed a hand on each of their cheeks and peered at them anxiously. "You two don't look good, but hopefully it's nothing Fina can't fix."

Instead of getting out his cell phone he opened The Book and flipped to a page near the back. Less than ten minutes later there was a tapping on the window and Joe opened it to let in a white bird. The bird transformed into Fina who bowed low to Joe. When she got a good look at him though, she gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

"Joe what happened to you!?" She cried out in distress.

"Don't worry about me. I need you to help Joleena and Anna." Joe said dragging her over.

"Help Anna first," Joleena grunted. "She might have a concussion."

Fina nodded suddenly becoming serious. She moved Anna's blood soaked hair back to examine the wound on her head and laid her hand against the cut. A white light emanated from under her palm and the pain on Anna's face slowly cleared.

Joe went over to sit beside Joleena. He grabbed a pillow from her couch and put it behind her back in an attempt to make her more comfortable.

"I really am alright." Joleena hissed a little in pain and did her best to smile at him. "I've broken ribs before."

"But you wouldn't have gotten hurt if it wasn't for me." Joe heaved an angry breath and looked away. "I'm such an idiot showing off like that and I put you and Anna in danger."

"But you also saved us." Joleena laid her hand against his cheek and gently turned him to look at her. "Believe it or not I think you'll be an amazing magician someday and you have a big heart as well."

Joe smiled at her and she pulled him in for a deep and loving kiss. Fina cleared her throat awkwardly and they jumped apart. Fina was blushing and Anna was trying to hide a smile behind her hands.

"Um, Joleena?" Fina asked wringing her hands a little. "I'm um, ready to heal you now."

Joleena nodded with a small blush and moved away from Joe a bit reluctantly. Fina laid her hands on her still bleeding leg first and quickly healed it before moving up to her side.

Joleena bit her lip to hold in a cry of pain and Fina frowned a little.

"This is an internal injury so it might take a bit longer to heal." Fina mumbled. "You broke one rib and cracked another. I'm surprise you aren't screaming right now."

"I've been through worse." Joleena grimaced again. "It takes a lot of pain and suffering to get to my level of magic skill."

Joe chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Even with a broken and cracked rib you're still an elitist snob."

"Hey Joleena," Anna said quietly. "What's the Tenebrosi Sanction?"

Joleena's smile fell and she narrowed her eyes, considering. "No, though I have heard of them once or twice. Perhaps I shall consult my library and try to find out more about them."

"Or," Joe said putting a firm hand on her shoulder. "You take a few nights off and rest for a little bit. Don't you think you two have been through enough today?"

Joleena and Anna looked at each other. "But-"

"No butts," Joe folded his arms with a small smile on his face. "That is enough dealing with this crap for a while guys. As _your _boyfriend and _your _older brother I want you two to listen to me and take a break. Do some normal girl things tomorrow like go shopping or something."

Anna made a face at him but Joleena smiled. "Well I have been meaning to update my wardrobe. Perhaps a day off is in order."

"Your ribs should be fine now." Fina took her hands off her side. "But you should probably take it easy for a few days."

"Good." Joe kissed Joleena firmly on the lips and stood up. "We're going to leave now and let you get some rest."

"Oh alright." Joleena stood up as well. "If I must."

Joleena walked them out the front door and shared a final kiss with Joe before going back inside. Joe, Anna, and Fina were walking down the street towards the first bus stop when Fina tugged on Joe's sleeve and let Anna walk a few steps ahead of them.

"Your hand," Fina said. "You cut your hand."

"Huh?" Joe looked down and saw that there was a bright red cut on his palm from earlier. "Oh yeah, I must have forgot about it."

Fina laid her hand over his and gently healed it.

"About what Anna asked earlier." She whispered. "Why did she ask about the Tenebrosi Sanction?"

Joe sighed and looked worried. "This crazy chick named Antonia mentioned it. Said that they were going to destroy us all. You wouldn't happened to know anything about it, do you?"

Fina shook her head and bit her lip. "The old Warp Wizard mentioned it a few times before but was never able to find out more than rumors. I'm sorry I can't be more help to you."

"No it's fine." Joe smiled and patted her head affectionately. "You've been more than enough help today."

"Hurry up guys!" Anna yelled. "You don't want to miss the bus do you!?"

Joe and Fina smiled at each other and hurried to catch up with Anna.


End file.
